{{Short description|German-born prelate}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = | honorific_prefix = His Excellency, The Right Reverend | name = Frederick Eis | image = Frederick Eis (1843–1926).png | title = Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie-Marquette<br>Titular Bishop of Bita | church = Roman Catholic Church | see = Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie-Marquette | term = August 20, 1899 to<br>July 8, 1922 | predecessor = John Vertin | successor = Paul Joseph Nussbaum | ordination = October 30, 1870 | ordained_by = Ignatius Mrak | consecration = August 20, 1899 | consecrated_by = Frederick Katzer <!---------- Personal details ---------->| birth_date = {{Birth date|1843|01|20}} | baptised = <!-- will not display if birth_date is entered --> | birth_place = Arbach, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia | death_date = {{Death date and age|1926|05|05|1843|01|20}} | death_place = Marquette, Michigan, US | buried = <!-- or | tomb = --> | nationality = German | religion = | residence = | parents = | education = St. Francis Seminary<br>College of Jolliette | alma_mater = | motto = ''Unum est necessarium''<br>(There is need of only one thing) | signature = | coat_of_arms = }} '''Frederick Eis''' (January 20, 1843 – May 5, 1926) was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie-Marquette in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan from 1899 to 1922.
==Biography==
=== Early life === Frederick Eis was born in Arbach, then in the Rhine Province of the Kingdom of Prussia, part of the German Empire (present day Germany). He was the youngest of four children of William Eis and Catherine Dietrich.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Rezek |first=Antoine Ivan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wd--j79HxxUC&dq=Frederick+Eis&pg=PA326 |title=History of the Diocese of Sault Ste, Marie and Marquette: Containing a Full and Accurate Account of the Development of the Catholic Church in Upper Michigan, with Portraits of Bishops, Priests and Illustrations of Churches Old and New |date=1906 |publisher=na |language=en}}</ref> When Eis was age 12, his family emigrated to the United States in 1855. They settled first in Calvary, Wisconsin, then Minnesota and finally in Rockland, Michigan.<ref name=":0" /> Eis was taught Latin and French by a missionary priest, Martin Fox.<ref name="baraga">{{cite book|editor1-first=Regis M.|editor1-last=Walling|others=N. Daniel Rupp|title=The Diary of Bishop Frederic Baraga: First Bishop of Marquette, Michigan|year=1990|publisher=Wayne State University Press|location=Detroit}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ykk9gkK8lu0C&dq=Frederick+Eis&pg=PA371 |title=Men of Progress: Embracing Biographical Sketches of Representative Michigan Men |date=1900 |publisher=Evening news association |language=en}}</ref>
In 1861, Eis began his studies for the priesthood at St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.<ref name="odonnell">{{cite book|last=O'Donnell|first=John Hugh|title=The Catholic Hierarchy of the United States, 1790-1922|url=https://archive.org/details/catholichierarch00odon|place=Washington, D.C.|year=1922}}</ref> Due to the American Civil War, Bishop Frederic Baraga sent Eis to study philosophy and theology instead at the College of Joliette in Joliette, Quebec.<ref name="catholic">{{cite book |last1=Rezek |first1=Antoine Ivan |title=Catholic Encyclopedia |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |year=1910 |volume=IX |location=New York |chapter=Diocese of Marquette |chapter-url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09689a.htm}}</ref> During his final years at Joliette, he taught English, mathematics and commerce.<ref name=":0" />
=== Priesthood === Eis was ordained a priest by Bishop Ignatius Mrak on October 30, 1870, for the Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie and Marquette.<ref name="hierarchy">{{cite news|work=Catholic-Hierarchy.org|title=Bishop Frederick Eis|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/beis.html|last=Cheney|first=David M}}</ref> After his ordination, Eis served in the following parishes in Michigan:
* Rector of St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette (1870 to 1873)<ref name=":0" /> * Pastor of Sacred Heart in Calumet, (1873 to 1874) * Pastor of St. Anne in Hancock (1874 to 1880)<ref name="baraga" /> * Pastor at St. Paul in Negaunee (1880 to 1890). While at St. Paul, he reduced the parish's debt and built a school. He was forced to resign in 1890 due to health problems.<ref name=":1" />
For the next five years, to improve his health, Eis spent his winters in California and Colorado, returning to Michigan in the summer.<ref name=":0" /> After his health improved, he was appointed pastor of St. Sebastian Parish in Bessemer, Michigan, in 1894, then moved in 1895 to Guardian Angels Parish in Crystal Falls, Michigan, to serve as pastor.<ref name="baraga" /> During this period, Eis served as the inspector of the diocesan schools. After the death of Bishop John Vertin, Eis served as diocesan administrator.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />
=== Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie and Marquette === On June 7, 1899, Eis was appointed the fourth bishop of Sault Sainte Marie and Marquette by Pope Leo XIII.<ref name="hierarchy" /> He received his consecration on August 20, 1899, from Archbishop Frederick Katzer at St. Peter Cathedral.<ref name="hierarchy" />
During Eis' 23-year tenure as bishop, he led the diocese through the nationalist controversies within the American Catholic community, and founded several charitable institutions and hospitals.<ref name="bishops">{{cite news|publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette|title=12 bishops have led the diocesan church|url=http://www.dioceseofmarquette.org/upcarticle.asp?upcID=1077 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726000517/http://www.dioceseofmarquette.org/upcarticle.asp?upcID=1077 |archive-date=2011-07-26 |url-status=dead |access-date=2023-02-22}}</ref> He was known for being helpful to men wanting to enter seminary and women wanting to join religious orders.<ref name=":1" /> In 1900, Eis travelled to Rome, meeting with Leo XIII at the Vatican.<ref name=":0" />
=== Retirement and legacy === On July 8, 1922, Pope Pius XI accepted Eis' resignation as bishop of Sault Sainte Marie and Marquette and appointed him as titular bishop of Bita and an assistant at the pontifical throne.<ref name="hierarchy" />
Frederick Eis died in Marquette on May 5, 1926, at age 83.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119456578/our-sunday-visitor/ |title=Former Marquette Bishop Dies at 83 |newspaper=The True Voice |agency=N.C.W.C. News Service |page=1 |date=1926-05-14 |access-date=2023-02-22 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He is buried in the bishops' crypt at St. Peter Cathedral.<ref name="bishops" />
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote}} {{commons category}}
{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette |state=collapsed}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eis, Frederick}} Category:1843 births Category:1926 deaths Category:People from Vulkaneifel Category:German emigrants to the United States Category:20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Marquette Category:Burials at St. Peter Cathedral (Marquette, Michigan) Category:Clergy from the Rhine Province Category:People from Marshfield, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin Category:Catholics from Wisconsin